Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Sumana Shrestha’s resignation as the party’s joint general secretary has stirred a new debate inside the fledgling political outfit.

When it became the fourth largest party in the House of Representatives after the November 2022 elections, it was widely seen as a promising alternative force. But the party hasn’t had smooth sailing since then as it struggles to battle public perception that it is any different from the traditional political parties. Allegations of cooperative fraud, organised crime and money laundering against party chair Rabi Lamichhane has remained a thorn on its side.

While so far, the party appeared unified around Lamichhane, lawmaker Shrestha’s resignation has hinted that not all is well within the party.

In her resignation, Shrestha has leveled various charges against the party leadership. She has not just bemoaned the lack of intra-party democracy but has also complained that the leadership didn’t heed her voice. She has also said she had to learn about party decisions from external sources.

Moreover, she has said the party should adopt the “one-person one-position” policy to make it stand out from the traditional political parties.

Shrestha’s resignation came to public knowledge on Thursday afternoon and later in the day, she accused party leaders of making public her resignation letter without her knowledge even as she had decided to keep it a secret for now in view of party chief Lamichhane’s April 4 arrest. Shrestha also revealed that she had submitted the resignation letter to Lamichhane two weeks ago after he was out on bail and had resumed his party duties on March 30.

RSP’s acting spokesperson Manish Jha said Shrestha informed the party’s central committee meeting on Thursday that she had submitted the resignation to Lamichhane on March 31.

Jha also said that the party’s central committee meeting on Thursday decided to postpone its general convention to February 2026.

Shrestha was appointed the party’s joint general secretary at the joint meeting of the central committee and the parliamentary party at Janakpur in November 2023.

Following her briefing, acting President DP Aryal stated that the matter would be processed in accordance with the party's formal procedures, Jha added.

Shrestha has said that she would remain committed to her role as a lawmaker and the party’s central committee member.

“She conveyed that she wants to limit her role in shaping public policy as a lawmaker and pass on the party’s key responsibilities to someone else,” said a party leader, requesting anonymity.

Shrestha has explained that political and managerial duties are of one nature, while party activism requires a different kind of commitment, suggesting the need to differentiate between the two.

“It does not send the right message when a lawmaker, responsible for formulating public policy, holds a key party position as well,” Shrestha says in her resignation letter. “That space should be filled by someone else.”

She further adds, “This principle may not apply in the case of Deputy Speaker Indira Rana and Chief Whip Santosh Pariyar, as they bring specific competence and representation from marginalised communities. But the policy should apply for others. We’ve already included it in the party’s official documents.”

However, Shrestha herself had previously retained the joint general secretary position even while serving as education minister during the Pushpa Kamal Dahal administration.

Just a few months ago, Shrestha had reportedly expressed her intention to run for the position of parliamentary party leader, which had been left vacant after Kaski District Court sent party president Lamichhane to judicial custody on a cooperative fraud case.

At that time, party leaders privy to the development had claimed that Swarnim Wagle, one of the two vice-presidents of the party, was prepared to support Shrestha had she thrown her hat in the ring.

Shrestha argues that the debate on the “one-person, one-position” principle had just begun at the time, and now the party must move towards implementing it. Otherwise, she warns, “the RSP risks becoming like any other political party.”